Aircraft components, such as a Gap band for a wing of an aircraft, undergo working prior to installation on the aircraft. Gap bands include a sharp apex that presents challenges during working of the Gap band. Working of the Gap band can include forming countersunk pilot holes that are utilized for attachment of the Gap band to the aircraft. The convention process for forming countersunk pilot holes can be a manual process performed by a technician. The conventional process can include boring pilot holes in the Gap band utilizing a drill and countersinking the pilot holes utilizing spin forming. However, due to the sharp apex of the Gap band, inconsistent and defect-prone countersunk pilot holes regularly occur during the process such that the Gap band is deemed as scrap.
Several factors can contribute to the quality of the countersunk pilot holes formed in the Gap band including dimensional tolerance of the countersink, flexibility of the material, height of the Gap band relative to height of the technician performing the countersink process, and skill of the technician performing the countersink process. As one example, a Gap band including 38 pilot holes about a perimeter of the Gap band requires twisting, turning, and bending of the technician's body to countersink each of the pilot holes. This maneuvering of the technician's does not only lack ergonomics, but the technician cannot reach a proper position to utilize the tool effectively for forming the countersink for all pilot holes. To this end, the technician must possess significant knowledge regarding various pressures and angles necessary to achieve an acceptable Gap band under these conditions. Moreover, an unexpected flexing of the material can attribute to defective countersunk pilot holes during formation of the countersink.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a fixture for working an aircraft component and a method for the same. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.